It seems like NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is thinking globally about the Association, and international expansion is the theme.
“It’s not preordained that we will expand at this time, but I know there’s an enormous amount of interest out there,” Silver told reporters Thursday. “… At some point, we’d like to look outside the United States. In addition to Canada. This may not be the right moment to do that, but I’m thinking long term as well.”
Currently, the Toronto Raptors are the only NBA team that are based outside of the United States. That’s in Canada, for those who don’t have geography in their repertoire. Back in the day, the Memphis Grizzlies were also north of the border, in Vancouver.
But this is far from the only time, the commissioner has hinted at the idea of international expansion. NBC Sports Boston’s Jordan Daly discussed this potential and the idea of Mexico came up.
“Mexico City is easy in terms of, I mean it’s high altitude, it’s 2,000 feet higher than Denver, so that affects the players a bit, but it’s a shorter flight to Mexico City from New York than it is to LA, so … One day, I think that would be incredible to actually expand to a market like Mexico City,” he said.
Silver also discussed the NBA’s international appeal in an international context. Notably, the game is one of the most internationally recognized sports, and the NBA powers that narrative.
“In the meantime, we are playing in Paris in January again,” Silver said. “It is very much a global league, we got players from roughly 40 countries, over a quarter of the players were born outside of the United States, and especially now with digital media, streaming media, you guys know; I’m sure you get fan mail from 200-plus countries, that’s where our games are carried.”
One this is true, any expansion to Europe, Asia, Africa or anywhere in the Eastern Hemisphere would prove too difficult with traveling within the already stacked 82-game season. But we’ll see about Mexico City!
The post SOURCE SPORTS: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Talks Expansion Outside United States to Possible Mexico first appeared on The Source.
The post SOURCE SPORTS: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Talks Expansion Outside United States to Possible Mexico appeared first on The Source.